Written Answers Tuesday 16 November 2010

Scottish Executive

Concessionary Travel

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the travel concession schemes that reduce the cost of travel for Scottish students aged 19 and over, showing the (a) details of the concession offered, (b) annual cost and (c) funding source.

Stewart Stevenson: There is no such national scheme. This is therefore a matter for commercial bus operators. The information requested is not held centrally.

Courts

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours advocates have spent in the sheriff courts in the last year.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not collected by the Scottish Government or by the Scottish Court Service.

Digital Technology

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve broadband services in urban areas.

Jim Mather: On 22 October 2010, the Scottish Government published its Digital Ambition for Scotland statement. One of our key ambitions is that next-generation broadband will be available to all by 2020, and that significant progress will be made by 2015. We will follow this statement with a more detailed strategy containing specific action plans in the next few months. As part of this work, we will consider what actions are appropriate in respect of all areas of Scotland. However, it is widely accepted that normal market forces will deliver next-generation broadband to urban areas, whereas it is the non-urban areas which are expected to require greater focus in any potential public sector intervention. Urban areas are generally well served by the market in relation to broadband services.

  Our digital ambition statement can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/ArtsCultureSport/arts/DigitalAmbition/DigitalAmbitionScotland.

Energy

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-29201 by Jim Mather on 2 December 2009, whether it will issue a Scottish energy key facts publication before the end of 2010.

Jim Mather: Energy in Scotland: A Compendium of Scottish Energy Statistics and Information will be published on the Scottish Government website before the end of 2010.

Enterprise

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Supported Employment Workplaces debate on 7 October 2010 ( Official Report c. 29383), whether it has convened a meeting with the City of Edinburgh Council and other interested parties regarding the proposed closure of Blindcraft in Edinburgh.

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Supported Employment Workplaces debate on 7 October 2010 ( Official Report c. 29383), whether it has invited all interested parties, including the City of Edinburgh Council, MSPs and MPs, to meet to discuss the future of Blindcraft in Edinburgh and, if so, on what date the invitations were issued.

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Supported Employment Workplaces debate on 7 October 2010 ( Official Report c. 29383), whether it will provide details of correspondence between it, the City of Edinburgh Council and MSPs regarding the proposed closure of Blindcraft in Edinburgh.

Jim Mather: Yes. As undertaken during the debate on 7 October 2010, I offered to facilitate a meeting on the future of BlindCraft. The council accepted my offer and the meeting took place on 9 November 2010 at Edinburgh City Chambers.

  A list of those who attended the meeting has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre under Bib. number 52029 along with a copy of the meeting notification issued on 3 November 2010, Bib number 52030.

  In addition, the Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning replied to a letter from Helen Eadie MSP on Blindcraft on 3 November 2010.

Firearms

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the draft framework produced by the Scottish Human Rights Commission setting out shared responsibilities for the use of taser guns.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to fulfil its responsibilities, as identified by the Scottish Human Rights Commission, which include "a duty to ensure that the system of law and administration in Scotland operates effectively to regulate the use of taser in a manner which respects Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights."

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to fulfil its responsibilities, as identified by the Scottish Human Rights Commission, which include "the duty to continue to monitor how the use of taser guns is operating in practice; whether the continued use of taser is justified and appropriate and whether adequate safeguards are in place."

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the assertion by the Scottish Human Rights Commission, as set out in its draft framework on shared responsibilities for the use of taser guns, that the Scottish Government bears distinct policy and strategic decision-making responsibility for the Strathclyde taser guns pilot and further roll-out of taser guns.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the assertion by the Scottish Human Rights Commission, as set out in its draft framework on shared responsibilities for the use of taser guns, that Scottish Ministers must authorise taser gun use at a policy and strategic decision making level.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the publication by the Scottish Human Rights Commission of the draft framework setting out shared responsibilities for the use of taser guns, it maintains that issuing taser guns to frontline police officers is an operational decision requiring no authorisation from Scottish ministers.

Kenny MacAskill: The draft framework produced by the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is based on an interpretation of the Firearms Act 1968 which is not shared by the Scottish Government. We have written to the SHRC explaining our understanding of the legislation. As such, the Scottish Government disagrees with the responsibilities identified in the draft framework in so far as they are relevant to the Scottish Government.

Firearms

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that use of taser guns by Scottish police forces is consistent with human rights law and standards as is its duty under the Scotland Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998.

Kenny MacAskill: Firearms legislation is a reserved matter. The primary responsibility for ensuring consistency with human rights law and standards in relation to the regulation of firearms therefore lies with the UK Government. Police forces are public authorities for the purposes of the Human Rights Act 1998 and consequently Chief Constables are obliged to ensure that officers act in a manner compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Firearms

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the assertion by the Scottish Human Rights Commission that the use of taser guns on children is likely to breach international human rights standards, in particular the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Kenny MacAskill: The relevant human rights law with regard to firearms in the UK is the Human Rights Act 1998. Chief Constables are obliged to ensure that officers act in accordance with the law and in a manner compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. It would not be appropriate for Ministers to comment on a speculative opinion on a hypothetical situation.

Health

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people under the age of 36 have died of a condition recognised as sudden cardiac death in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally.

  Most sudden deaths in people under 35 are likely to be due to an inherited cardiac condition, but without a post-mortem examination it is not always possible to be certain of the cause of death.

  There may be around 30 such deaths a year in Scotland, but both the Cardiac Assessment of Young Athletes (CAYA) programme and the Familial Arrhythmia Network Scotland (FANS) are trying to achieve a better understanding of the numbers.

Health

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding the NHS allocated to investigating the causes and prevention of sudden cardiac deaths in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08, (c) 2008-09 and (d) 2009-10.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information requested is not available.

  During 2008-09 and 2009-10, the Government made available £200,000 to support the Cardiac Assessment in Young Athletes (CAYA) programme. It offers cardiovascular assessment of those aged between 15 and 25 who are engaged in competitive sports.

  We have also supported the establishment of the Familial Arrhythmia Network Scotland (FANS). The network aims to raise awareness of familial arrhythmias, define and agree referral protocols, develop national guidance for clinical and genetic testing As we indicated in our Heart Disease and Stroke Actionand establish a national register which will support long term follow-up. Plan, FANS should extend its activities to cover cardiomyopathies, as these represent another significant cause of sudden cardiac death.

Health

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been screened in each year since the launch of the Cardiac Assessment in Young Athletes programme in 2008.

Nicola Sturgeon: Since the Cardiac Assessment in Young Athletes (CAYA) programme became fully operational in 2009, 885 young people between 15 and 25 who are engaged in competitive sports have undergone the cardiovascular assessment offered by the programme.

Health

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been referred for further investigation or treatment following screening by the Cardiac Assessment in Young Athletes programme, in each year since its launch.

Nicola Sturgeon: Of the 885 individuals assessed so far by the Cardiac Assessment in Young Athletes (CAYA) programme, 176 have been referred for further treatment, in most cases because of raised blood pressure. None has been excluded from participation in competitive sports.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who the members of the National Performance Management Committee are and what positions they hold in the NHS.

Nicola Sturgeon: The National Performance Management Committee is independently chaired by Mr Owen Clarke CBE. Mr Clarke, who was previously Head of the Inland Revenue Department for Scotland, was appointed as independent chair by Andy Kerr in 2006 and re-appointed in 2009 by me for a further three year period.

  The other current members of the committee, who are chosen by their peers, are:

  Ken Corsar, Chair, NHS Lanarkshire (membership from 2006);

  Ian Kinniburgh, Chair, NHS Shetland (membership from July 2010);

  James McGoldrick, Chair, NHS Fife (membership from July 2006 and to demit membership after the current cycle);

  Allan Watson, Chair, NHS 24 (membership from April 2009);

  Sandy Watson, Chair, NHS Tayside (shadowing and to replace James McGoldrick).

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the National Performance Management Committee met in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2009-10 and how many times it has met in 2010-11.

Nicola Sturgeon: The National Performance Management Committee has met on the undernoted dates:

  For the 2007-08 performance year:

  25 February 2008;

  2 May 2008;

  28 July 2008;

  8 August 2008;

  29 August 2008;

  26 September 2008;

  27 October 2008;

  27 November 2008.

  For the 2008-09 performance year:

  26 January 2009;

  3 April 2009;

  8 May 2009;

  9 July 2009;

  14 August 2009;

  1 September 2009;

  25 September 2009;

  16 October 2009;

  13 November 2009;

  7 January 2010.

  For the 2009-10 performance year (to-date):

  8 March 2010;

  16 April 2010;

  14 May 2010;

  16 July 2010;

  13 August 2010;

  8 September 2010;

  8 October 2010;

  1 November 2010.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive by what means tenants in private rented housing are made aware of their rights in terms of the private rented housing panel.

Alex Neil: It is the landlord’s duty at the start of a relevant tenancy to provide the tenant with written information regarding the repairing standard and their right to apply to the private rented housing panel (prhp) if the standard is not being adhered to. Section 20(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 covers this.

  The prhp can provide tenants with its leaflet A brief guide for tenants and information can be seen on its website.

  Shelter, Citizens Advice and law centres also advise tenants of the work carried out by the prhp.

  Rent officers when visiting properties as part of their duties in cases of rent assessment, distribute leaflets about the prhp and inform tenants of their right of appeal to the prhp.

  Section 29 of the current Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill would require a landlord under an assured tenancy to provide a tenant information pack to a tenant at the beginning of the tenancy. Ministers would have the power to prescribe by order the documents to be included. Information on the prhp could be available as part of the pack if this provision becomes law.

Inter-Governmental Links

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings have been held with the Norwegian Government and European Commission to explore options for a North Sea supergrid since May 2007.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has explored options for a North Sea grid at 10 meetings with the European Commission and at 5 meetings with the Norwegian Government since May 2007.

Justice

James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its funding for criminal justice social work has been in each year since 1999.

Kenny MacAskill: The indicative grant allocations, issued for criminal justice social work services in each financial year since 1999-2000, are as follows.

  

1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


£38,419,502
£41,922,699
£47,450,107
£51,511,111
£59,170,512
£67,085,712



  

2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11


£75,256,023
£79,610,320
£89,646,971
£92,786,314
£95,726,923
£98,969,688



  The table contains the most relevant year-on year figures for comparison purposes and details the levels of funding that are provided to Community Justice Authorities (CJAs) who, along with local authorities, are the principal delivery agents of criminal justice social work services in Scotland. CJAs were introduced in 2006-07 and the administration grant allocated in each financial year has not been included in the figures. As well as covering the statutory criminal justice social work services provided by local authorities, this funding also covers a range of other programmes and pilots which have varied by year and by CJA area. Other funding streams such as intensive support packages, ad hoc capital payments and a number of other centrally administered grants, although not included in these totals, could also be said to support criminal justice social work services.

NHS Finance

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether additional funding will be provided to achieve the NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) targets for each NHS board and what the likely timescale is for NHS boards to meet their targets.

Nicola Sturgeon: In order to ensure a smooth transition to the NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) targets for NHS Scotland the Scottish Government committed to phasing in the target shares calculated by the NRAC formula by way of "differential growth". Under this methodology, all boards continue to enjoy growth in their allocations year-on-year, with those below their target share receiving more growth than those above until the new distribution is achieved over time. In this way no board receives a cut in funding.

  This approach to phasing in funding has been the practice under both the previous SHARE and Arbuthnott formulae. Despite the constraints of the current economic and financial climate, an additional £13 million has been provided to NHS boards below target in financial year 2010-11. The level of additional funding that NHS boards will receive in 2011-12 has yet to be determined.

  As the target shares of NHS boards change on an annual basis to reflect changes in the relative need of their populations, it is not possible to provide a date when all NHS boards will reach their target share.

NHS Staff

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made changes to the number of new entrants to trainee doctor programmes for 2010-11.

Nicola Sturgeon: There has been no change to the number of new entrants to Foundation Training programme for 2010-11, which remains at 804.

NHS Staff

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many members of the NHS Executive Managers Cohort were or are (a) male and (b) female in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09, (iii) 2009-10 and (iv) 2010-11.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the gender of staff in the Executive and Senior Management Cohorts is not held centrally.

NHS Staff

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the distribution of appraisal scores for the NHS Executive Managers Cohort was in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2009-10 and is in 2010-11, also broken down by gender.

Nicola Sturgeon: The performance management arrangements for staff in the Executive Cohort are set out in HDL (2007)15. Similar arrangements apply to the Senior Management Cohort, but responsibility for these rests with health board remuneration committees rather than the National Performance Management Committee. The system uses "achievement scores" which calibrate to "performance ratings" as set out in the circular.

  The following table shows the percentage distribution for both cohorts across each of the performance ratings for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 performance years. The National Performance Management Committee has still to offer assurance to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing in respect of 2009-10 and therefore details for that performance year are not provided. Details for the 2010-11 performance year is not yet available.

  

Year
Unacceptable
Incomplete
Fully Acceptable
Superior
Outstanding


2007-08
0.00%
2.33%
79.87%
17.47%
0.33%


2008-09
0.25%
1.88%
80.62%
16.43%
0.82%



  Information on the gender of staff in the Executive and Senior Management Cohorts is not held centrally.

National Health Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was responsible for the Health Plus website and, if so, for what reason it has been removed.

Nicola Sturgeon: The NHS inform team has been working in partnership with NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to integrate the Health Information Plus portal for all public facing health information material.

  NES has recently taken a decision to redirect the public to NHS inform as the single national resource for quality assured health information. The Health Information Plus portal has not yet been fully integrated in the NHS inform website, but work to do so is ongoing.

National Health Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the development of the NHS Inform website was project managed; what project plans existed, and what budget controls were in place.

Nicola Sturgeon: An Advisory group and a programme board, following established governance and reporting structures, was put in place to manage the NHS inform project. In the latter stages, PRINCE 2 was deployed to monitor, direct and control the project.

  The budget was managed jointly by a team manager within NHS24 and its Finance Department. Expenditure was reviewed on a monthly basis.

National Health Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how NHS Inform relates to NHS24.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS inform is a NHSScotland service, hosted by NHS24.

  NHS24 provides online information for people who are symptomatic and provides access to a self help guide which assists the public to be signposted to the most appropriate level of care. In addition, NHS24 provides corporate information and information on national campaigns (e.g. Be Ready for Winter and Know Who to Turn To).

  In contrast, NHS inform is a single gateway to the provision of quality assured health and social care information across a range of health and wellbeing topics.

  NHS inform makes use of the existing NHS24 national telephony and technology infrastructure and benefits from being hosted by an organisation already leading in health information management and patient care.

National Health Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the content of the NHS Inform website has been taken from other NHS websites and what these websites are.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information has been drawn from NHS24 and NHS Choices (a comparable website). Other content is still under construction and is being developed in partnership with organisations such as NHS Health Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland, as well as third sector organisations. The Scottish Government Health Directorates will also contribute as necessary.

National Health Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how project spend on NHS Inform was monitored.

Nicola Sturgeon: A team manager in NHS 24 and its finance department were jointly responsible for monitoring project spend at operational level. I understand that current/projected spend is also monitored at programme board level.

National Health Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent at the launch event for NHS Inform on 3 August 2010.

Nicola Sturgeon: The launch of NHS inform took place as part of NHS24's Annual Review and therefore incurred minimal costs of less than £50.00.

National Health Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether work on the NHS Inform website is complete and, if not, what further work is required.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Inform is a constantly evolving service and there are currently a number of strands of work in train, including information relating to carers, cancer, healthy lifestyles and mental health and wellbeing.

National Health Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the original completion date was for NHS Inform.

Nicola Sturgeon: The original completion date was planned for the end of 2009. However, a range of service and operational pressures, including those associated with the H1N1 flu pandemic, led to the launch date being put back to August 2010.

Prescriptions

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider allowing pharmacists to change prescriptions for branded drugs to generic alternatives, given the decision by the Department of Health not to proceed with this policy.

Nicola Sturgeon: No decision has been taken by the Scottish Government in respect of the introduction of generic substitution. At present, officials are in discussion with key stakeholders to examine ways to maximise the use of generic medicines in Scotland.

Prison Service

James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its funding for the Scottish Prison Service has been in each year since 1999.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The budget provided to the Scottish Prison Service in each year was:

  

Year
£ million


1999-2000
204.4


2000-01
248.9


2001-02
258.3


2002-03
265.7


2003-04
299.2


2004-05
298.5


2005-06
321.7


2006-07
396.3


2007-08
427.3


2008-09
441.3


2009-10
455.1


2010-11
485.9

Procurement

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it uses public procurement contracts to encourage public transport providers to introduce talking guides on services.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has no procurement contracts for bus services. The ScotRail Franchise does not include provision relating to talking guides. However, the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 1998, which were superseded by the Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Non-Interoperable Rail System) Regulations 2010, require all new rolling stock built from 1 November 1998 to include audio-visual systems providing station destination information. A commitment was also given by ScotRail to retrofit audio-visual information systems into the majority trains built prior to 1998 during routine refurbishment programmes.

Rail Network

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37110 by Stewart Stevenson on 3 November 2010, what local consultation Transport Scotland and Scotrail will undertake as they work on improving the timetable for South West Scotland.

Stewart Stevenson: SWesTrans is the regional transport partnership (RTP) responsible for articulating local transport needs in South West Scotland. ScotRail has engaged fully with SWesTrans in its work to date, and will continue to do so in the future.

  Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, the RTP concerned with services as far as Girvan, has also been consulted by ScotRail.

  Transport Scotland meet regularly with all RTPs.

Rail Services

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-35775 by Stewart Stevenson on 13 September 2010, whether it will specify which clauses of the Railways Act 1993 prevent Transport Scotland from directly and permanently operating ScotRail services once the current franchise expires.

Stewart Stevenson: Section 25 of the Railways Act 1993 prevents a range of public bodies, including Scottish Ministers and their executive agency, Transport Scotland, from being the franchisee of the Scotrail services, which are services designated under section 23(1) of the Railways Act 1993 as services to be provided under a franchise agreement.

Rail Services

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-35775 by Stewart Stevenson on 13 September 2010, whether it will specify which European legislation prevents Transport Scotland from directly and permanently operating ScotRail services once the current franchise expires.

Stewart Stevenson: Scottish Ministers are not aware of any provision of European legislation that is intended to prevent public sector operation of rail passenger services.

Road Accidents

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-24176 by Stewart Stevenson on 4 June 2009, how many (a) accidents and (b) fatalities occurred on the A9 between (i) Dunblane and Perth, (ii) Perth and Pitlochry, (iii) Pitlochry and Inverness and (iv) Inverness and Thurso in 2009 and have occurred in 2010.

Stewart Stevenson: The number of (a) accidents and (b) fatalities which have occurred on the A9 between (i) Dunblane and Perth, (ii) Perth and Pitlochry, (iii) Pitlochry and Inverness and (iv) Inverness and Thurso in 2009 and 2010 is as shown in the following table:

  

 
Year
Personal Injury Accidents
Fatal Accidents
Fatal Casualties


A9 Dunblane to Perth (Inveralmond Roundabout)
2009
35
0
0


2010*
15
0
0


A9 Perth (Inveralmond Roundabout) to Pitlochry (Junction with A924)
2009
18
0
0


2010*
8
2
2


A9 Pitlochry (Junction with A924) to Inverness (Longman Roundabout)
2009
45
3
4


2010*
21
1
1


A9 Inverness (Longman Roundabout) to Thurso (Scrabster)
2009
68
3
3


2010*
24
0
0



  Note: *1 January 2010 – 30 June 2010.

  The accident rate on the A9 trunk road between Perth and Inverness remains around half the national average.

  The figures quoted may differ from those published elsewhere because they were extracted on a different date and the database may have changed between the two dates, e.g. due to late returns, corrections or changes to earlier returns and traffic volumes.

Scottish Enterprise

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Scottish Enterprise regarding the creation of a city development company in Aberdeen.

John Swinney: There have been no discussions with Scottish Enterprise about the creation of a city development company in Aberdeen.

Scottish Enterprise

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it approved the participation of Scottish Enterprise in the creation of a city development company in Aberdeen and, if so, when it did.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a minister approved the participation of Scottish Enterprise in the creation of a city development company in Aberdeen.

John Swinney: Decisions about Scottish Enterprise’s participation in a city development company in Aberdeen are operational ones for Scottish Enterprise and I will ask its Chief Executive to write to the member about it.

Scottish Enterprise

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Aberdeen City Council regarding the creation of a city development company in Aberdeen.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has had no formal discussions with Aberdeen City Council about its plans to create a city development company in Aberdeen.

Scottish Enterprise

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its approval is required to establish a city development company in Aberdeen.

John Swinney: Whether the Scottish Government’s approval was required would depend on the nature of the proposal and, to date, Aberdeen City Council has not approached the Scottish Government about its proposal.

Scottish Enterprise

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its approval is required for local authority assets to be transferred to the ownership of a city development company.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whose authority is required to allow local authority assets to be transferred to a city development company.

John Swinney: In general, the approval of Scottish Ministers is required if a local authority wishes to dispose of land held on the Housing Revenue Account, or which forms part of common or open space or is held for use as allotments. Otherwise, local authorities may generally dispose of their assets without the Scottish Ministers’ consent, providing they comply with any statutory requirements relating to the disposal.

Scottish Enterprise

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on what legal basis local authority assets can be transferred to the control of a body in which commercial interests hold a deciding vote.

John Swinney: The legal basis for the transfer of a local authority’s assets would be for the local authority concerned to determine.

Scottish Enterprise

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Enterprise has made an assessment of the legal basis of Aberdeen City Council’s proposal to transfer assets to a city development company.

John Swinney: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and I will ask its Chief Executive to write to the member about it.

Scottish Futures Trust

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-36351 by John Swinney on 29 September 2010, when it expects the Scottish Futures Trust to provide the information requested.

John Swinney: The Chief Executive of the Scottish Futures Trust provided the information requested on 5 November 2010.

Scottish Futures Trust

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-36778 by John Swinney on 26 October 2010, what the relationship is of the Scottish Futures Trust and the Infrastructure Investment Group and how their roles differ.

John Swinney: The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) is represented on the Infrastructure Investment Group (IIG).

  SFT’s focus is deriving value for money in project delivery across the public sector, through its roles in delivering projects; brokering collaboration and aggregation between public bodies; advising and organising funding and financing; validating projects through undertaking due diligence and scrutiny; and acting as a centre of expertise.

  The IIG is primarily concerned with providing scrutiny and oversight of the Scottish Government’s capital investment programme, and ensuring appropriate governance measures are in place.

Scottish Government Funding

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it has provided since May 2007 to support research and development.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government supports research and development (R&D) across the government, business and higher education sectors, using a number of mechanisms to promote excellence in research, its development and dissemination.

  Data on R&D funding in the UK is published annually by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills within the Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) statistics publication, available at:

  http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/science/science-funding/set-stats.

  The latest data published for the Scottish Government relates to the 2007-08 and 2008-09 financial years, and shows that the Scottish Government contributed £137 million to R&D in the government and business sectors in 2007-08 and planned to spend £146 million in 2008-09.

  In terms of support to higher education, the table below shows the Scottish Funding Council grants to universities for research and knowledge transfer for each year from 2007-08 to 2009-10.

  

Academic Year
Research and Knowledge Transfer Grant (million)


2007-08
£263


2008-09
£279


2009-10
£297



  Note: The figure for 2009-10 includes the main grant for Research and Knowledge Transfer and the World-Class Research/Knowledge Transfer & Innovation elements of the Horizon Fund.

  Source: Scottish Funding Council.

  Furthermore, there are other sectoral specific funding mechanisms including the £10 million Saltire Prize and £13 million WATERS scheme aimed at the accelerating the wave and tidal energy sector, and the Scottish European Green Energy Centre which has a focus on demonstration and deployment of low carbon technologies.

Scottish Government Staff

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the current budget reduction, whether it will keep vacant the position of Director-General Health and Chief Executive of the NHS in Scotland.

John Swinney: The recruitment strategy for the post of Director-General Health and Social Care and Chief Executive of the NHS in Scotland is currently under consideration.

Transport

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce talking guides on any bus services that it subsidises.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government does not directly subsidise any bus services. When tendering for subsidised bus services a local authority is free to impose such conditions on the contract as they deem appropriate including a requirement for talking guides.